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It was another extremely busy week of action in the Twins minor league system. We've got you covered with some stats, but also catch you up on a couple of key injury concerns. From the Saints sending a message to the Rochester Red Wings that they are now the Twins Triple-A affiliate, to Wichita, to Cedar Rapids, and down to the Dominican Republic. Find out what's going on in the Twins minor leagues. These Minor League Week in Reviews are getting long. They are filled with how Twins minor leaguers, from the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, down to the 17 and 18-year-old kids playing in the Dominican Summer League. Who played really well? How did the teams perform. While wins and losses are secondary to player development, it is a part of the game that matters to the players. There were several transactions on Monday. Both Rookie League affiliates played on Monday morning. There has been a lot of Twins minor league coverage all week, so be sure to keep checking back. Of course, we also look at the current Top 20 Twins prospects, and we enjoy seeing them do well. But, we (or at least I am) are just as excited to hear that a player like Elliot Soto is being called up by the Twins. Fun stories! If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. TRANSACTIONS With no Monday Minor League Report, here are the transactions from later on Sunday and on Monday: RHP Cole Sands was optioned to St. Paul. Infielder Elliot Soto’s contract was purchased and he joins the team in Seattle. To make room, RHP Cody Stashak was placed on the 60-Day IL. LHP Evan Sisk was promoted from Wichita to St. Paul. RHP Jordan Gore was sent from St. Paul to Wichita, as was OF Cole Sturgeon. RHP Argenis Angulo placed on the Development List for Wichita. RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. C Jair Camargo activated from the Injured List. OF Kennie Taylor and C Kyle Schmidt sent from Wichita to Cedar Rapids. RESULTS Previous Week in Review (5/31-6/6):Another No-No, and Huge Offensive Performances Tuesday: Gipson-Long Shucks Cubs, Steer Stays Hot Wednesday: Encarnacion-Strand Continues to Mash, Emmanuel Rodriguez Injured Thursday: Festa Fancy in Start, Steer Walks it Off Friday: A Near Sweep Saturday: Kirilloff, Saints Power Their Way to Sixth Straight Win Sunday: Offensive Clinic from Cedar Rapids, Kirilloff Homers Again MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT (More Than) Three Questions With… Saints Infielder Spencer Steer (includes video) Is Austin Martin Minnesota’s Best Trade Chip? Partial ACL Tear Ends Lewis’s Season… Again! Passing on What He Has Learned Is Elliot Soto’s Drive With the 2022 Saints MONDAY’S SHORT-SEASON RESULTS We don’t have a Minor League Report on Mondays since the full-season affiliates don’t play on Mondays. But, often the FCL Twins and DSL Twins do play. Here are their box scores and highlights. FCL Twins 6, FCL Rays 11 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Juan Rojas (4 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) Multi-Hit Games: Gregory Duran (2-for-3, BB, 2B, R, RBI, K 2B: Gregory Duran (2) Rehab Players: Daniel Robertson (0-for-2, K) Top Prospects: Danny De Andrade (0-for-3, HBP, K), Fredy Michel (1-for-3, 2 BB, K, 2 R, 1 RBI, SB). Summary: The GCL Twins fell behind 6-1 but clawed their way back to 6-5 going to the bottom of the eighth inning. That’s when the Rays scored five runs to put the game away. Just one of those five runs was earned as the Twins youngsters committed six errors in the game. DSL Twins 7, DSL Brewers (2) 6 Box Score Starting Pitcher: Julio Bonilla (4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) Multi-Hit Games: Denyerbe Gervis (2-for-2, 2B, R, RBI, SB), Isaac Pena (2-for-2, RBI), Junior Del Valle (2-for-3, R) 2B: Denyerbe Gervis (3) 3B: Yilber Herrera (1) Top Prospects: Bryan Acuna (0-3, HBP, R, 2 K) WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week: 6-0, hosting Rochester Season: 30-29 overall, 6th place out of ten teams in the International League West. They are 6.0 games behind Nashville. Despite the rough week, Rochester remains in first place, a half-game ahead of Lehigh Valley. The Saints were struggling, but it’s fair to say that they are playing much better now. They began the week at 24-29. The former Twins Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings, came to St. Paul leading the East division of the International League. The Saints swept the series and are now back over .500 at 30-29. In reality, the Saints completely dominated #OldFriend Matthew Lecroy’s squad. They outscored the Wings 48-23. They reached double-digits in runs scored three times. Aside from a walk-off win on Thursday, none of the other games were particularly close. The Red Wings still lead their division by 1/2 game. Mario Sanchez had a four-inning save this week. He gave up no runs and no hits. He walked one and struck out six batters. Joe Ryan made a rehab start on Thursday night. He struck out four batters over three scoreless, one-hit innings. He appears ready to make his next start with the Twins. Jake Petricka worked three scoreless, one-hit innings over two appearances. He walked one and struck out three batters. Tyler Thornburg threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen. He gave up one hit and struck out three batters. He also threw 2 1/3 scoreless, hitless innings in his Twins debut on Sunday afternoon. Jake Faria gave up one run on five hits in five innings in his start. He walked one and struck out two. Alex Kirilloff played in all six games. He went 9-for-24 and hit .375/.423/.792 (1.215) with a double, three homers and seven RBI. Tim Beckham played in four games. He went 9-for-17 and hit .529/.600/.765 (1.365) with a double, a homer, and nine RBI. He also had two stolen bases. Spencer Steer played in the Saints first three games this week. In that time, he went 5-for-13 and hit .385/.500/.923 (1.423) with a double and two home runs. On Thursday, he capped a four-run ninth inning with a two-run, walk-off homer. Jermaine Palacios returned to the Saints. In four games, he went 6-for-17, hitting .353/.389/.647 (1.036) with two doubles, a homer and four RBI. Michael Helman went 6-for-19 (.316) with two doubles. Mark Contreras went 6-for-20 (.300) with three doubles. Caleb Hamilton played in four games and went 4-for-12. He hit .333/.556/.583 (1.139) with a homer and two RBI. He also walked six times. In six games, Jake Cave went 8-for-23 and hit .348/.444/.609 (1.053) with a double, triple, homer, and five RBI. What’s Next? The Saints will be on the road the next two weeks. They will travel to Ohio and take on the Columbus Clippers this week. Pitching Probables (RHP Aaron Sanchez, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Jordan Balazovic, RHP Derek Rodriguez, RHP Jake Faria, TBD) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Week: 2-4, @ Arkansas Season: 32-23 overall, 1st place in the Texas League North Division. They remain 1 1/2 game ahead of Tulsa (30-24) and 2.0 games ahead of Arkansas (31-26). The series began with 6-1 losses at the hands of Arkansas. After a rainout on Wednesday, they split a doubleheader Thursday. The Wind Surge were outscored 23-20 for the week. Only one game throughout the full week was decided by less than three runs. Here are some of the top performances for the Wind Surge this past week: Louie Varland had a terrific start this week. The Minnesota native tossed six scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none, and struck out nine batters. Melvi Acosta gave up just one hit over 4 2/3 innings in two appearances. He walked two and struck out four batters. Lefty Evan Sisk struck out six batters over three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two batters. New Surge relievers, Denny Bentley and Andrew Cabezas each worked two scoreless innings and struck out two batters over two games. Anthony Prato had a good start to his Wichita days. He went 5-for-18 and hit .278/.417/.389 (.806) with two doubles and three walks. Chris Williams went 5-for-22 (.227), but he had three doubles, a homer, and five RBI. Edouard Julien was 5-for-18 (.278), but he walked six times, giving him a .458 on-base percentage for the week. What’s Next? The Wind Surge will remain on the road. They will head to Tulsa to play a seven-game series. They will play a doubleheader on Wednesday, making up for a rainout from early May. Pitching Probables (RHP Casey Legumina, Wednesday DH (TBD, TBD), TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week: 4-2, @ South Bend Season: 37-20 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League West Division, 3.5 games ahead of Wisconsin (33-23). The Kernels dominated the series to the tune of a 37-16 run differential. They lost two close games and they won the other four games by an average of six runs. The Kernels were able to increase their lead in the division and put more space between themselves and third-place South Bend. David Festa continues his impressive, breakout season. In his start last week, the flamethrower struck out six batters over six scoreless innings. He gave up four hits and walked one batter. Lefty Aaron Rozek tossed four innings. He gave up no runs on two hits, one walk, one hit batter and struck out three batters. Sawyer Gipson-Long gave up one run on three hits (a solo homer). He walked one and struck out six batters. Cade Povich gave up one run on four hits over six innings on Sunday. He walked two and struck out five batters. Brent Headrick had another strong start. In 5 2/3 innings, he gave up one run on six hits. He walked one and struck out seven batters. Christian Encarnacion-Strand played all six games. He went 6-for-24 and hit .250/.333/.708 (1.041) with two doubles, three homers, and eight RBI. Dylan Neuse played four games and went 3-for-10 at the plate. He hit .300/.533/.600 (1.133) with a homer. He walked four times. Wander Javier went 6-for-17 in five games last week. He hit .353/.450/.529 (979) with a double, a triple, and four RBI. In six games, Seth Gray went 7-for-22 and hit .318/.400/.636 (1.036) with a double, two homers, and seven RBI. What’s Next? The Kernels will be home for the next two weeks. This week, they will be hosting Dayton. Dayton leads the Midwest League East Division with a 36-19 record and a 4 1/2 game lead over Great Lakes. Order Tickets here. Pitching Probables (RHP John Stankiewicz, RHP David Festa, LHP Brent Headrick, LHP Aaron Rozek, LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sean Mooney) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 1-5, @ Daytona Season: 35-21 overall, 1st place in the Florida State League West, 6.0 games ahead of Clearwater (29-27). It was a tough week for the Mussels. Marco Raya Steve Hajjar was terrific but only went two innings in his start. Emmanuel Rodriguez injured his leg on Wednesday. He is going to be out for three-to-four months after having surgery. Keoni Cavaco played in just one game but is expected to return to action this week. They were outscored by the Tortugas 17-37. Carlos Aguiar began the week by playing one game with the FCL Twins. He had a double in a 1-for-3 game. He also walked once. In four games with the Mussels, he had a double, a triple, a homer, and two walks. Noah Cardenas played in six games. He went 3-for-12 (.250). He also walked six times and was on base 59% of the time and had a double too. Jaylen Nowlin made one start. He went three scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out six batters. Sam Perez pitched twice, In three innings, he gave up one hit. He struck out two batters and didn’t walk anyone. Travis Adams struck out eight batters in five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. Malik Barrington struck out four batters over three scoreless innings over two outings. He finished both games he pitched and recorded a save. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels head back to Hammond Stadium this week to take on the Bradenton Marauders (25-31). Pitching Probables (TBD, TBD,TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD) Rookie: Florida Complex League (FCL Twins) Week: 3-2 Season: 4-2 Alexander Pena is off to a fast start. In four games, he went 7-for-12. He hit .583/.600/.917 (1.517) with two doubles, a triple, and three home runs. Fredy Michel also played four games. He went 5-for-13 and hit .385/.500/.538 (1.038) with two doubles and an RBI. Gregory Duran played four games and went 3-for-10. He hit .300/.563/.500 (1.063) with two doubles. He also walked five times. Rehabbing Daniel Robertson went 4-for-12 over three games and hit .333/.429/667 (1.096) with a double, a homer and five RBI. He also walked twice. Jose Olivares worked four relief innings. He gave up an unearned run on three hits. He walked two and struck out four batters. Tomas Cleto recorded a Save in his outing. He tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four batters. Jon Olsen and Luis Rijo made their first rehab appearances since they had Tommy John surgery late last year. Rookie: Dominican Summer league (DSL Twins): Week: 4-1. Season: 4-2 Cesar Lares struck out eight batters over four scoreless, hitless innings in his professional debut. He walked three and hit a batter. Miguel Olivares struck out five and walked one batter over four scoreless innings. He gave up one hit. Roger Duran worked twice out of the bullpen. In five innings, he gave up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out nine batters. Rafael Cruz played in four games and went 5-for-11. He hit .455/.538/.727 (1.265) with a double, a triple, and two RBI. Denyerbe Gervis went 6-for-12 in his four games and hit .500/.538/1.000 (1.538) with three doubles, a home run, and five RBI. Isaac Pena played in five games. He went 7-for-11 and is hitting .636/.583/.818 (1.401) with a triple and three RBI. Junior Del Valle went 5-for-8 in his four games played. He hit .625/.667/.875 (1.542) with two doubles. PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week and this season. The Prospect Tracker will be updated on the first of each month throughout the season. Notice that these pages now include stats and splits, as well as past article links, video and more. #1 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - Did Not Play (Season: 34 G, .313/.405/.534 (.940), 12-2B, 1-3B, 5-HR, 30 R, 14 RBI, 18 BB, 32 K) #1 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - Did Not Play (.000), 0-2B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 12 G, .300/.317/.550 (.867), 4-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 5 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 5 K) #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 5 G, 1-for-14 (.071), 1-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 2 BB, 6 K (Season: 51 G, .235/.360/.311 (.671), 8-2B, 2-3B, 1-HR, 37 R, 14 RBI, 25 BB, 34 K, 21 SB, 2 CS) #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - In MLB (Season: 21 G, .256/.295/.442 (.737), 10-2B, 2-HR, 10 R, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 14 K) #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 5 G, 6-for-17 (.353), 2-2B, 0-HR, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 4 K (Season: 30 G, .226/.255/.415 (.670), 8-2B, 4-HR, 10 R, 15 RBI, 3 BB, 26 K) #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 1 K (Season: 6 GS, 19.0 IP, 22 R, 17 ER, 31 H, 12 BB, 18 K, 0-2, 8.05 ERA, 2.26 WHIP, 5.7 BB/9, 8.5 K/9) #5 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K (Season: 11 GS, 53.0 IP, 21 R, 20 ER, 41 H, 19 BB, 53 K, 2-3, 3.40 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.0 K/9) #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - Injured List (Season: 11 G, 10 GS, 34.1 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, 17 H, 22 BB, 50 K, 0-1, 1.83 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 5.8 BB/9, 13.1 K/9) #7 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - (Season: 35 G, .307/.385/.591 (.976), 13-2B, 1-3B, 8-HR, 27 R, 30 RBI, 14 BB, 23 K) #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 3 G, 5-for-13 (.385), 1-2B, 2-HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K (Season: 16 G, .279/.380/.691 (1.071), 4-2B, 0-3B, 8-HR, 18 R, 19 RBI, 8 BB, 13 K) #8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 2 G, 0-for-4 (.000), 0-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 3 BB, 1 K (Season: 47 G, .272/.493/.552 (1.044), 5-2B, 3-3B, 9-HR, 35 R, 25 RBI, 57 BB, 52 K) #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 2-for-17 (.118), 0-2B, 0-3B, 0-HR, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K (Season: 50 G, .243/.375/.335 (.710), 7-2B, 2-3B, 2 HR, 33 R, 13 RBI, 37 BB, 58 K) #10 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 8 G, 7 GS, 32.2 IP, 15 R, 12 ER, 26 H, 12 BB, 35 K, 3-1, 3.31 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 9.6 K/9) #11 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 5 K (Season: 9 GS, 43.0 IP, 20 R, 16 ER, 34 H, 15 BB, 57 K, 4-4, 3.35 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 11.9 K/9) #12 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, 9 K (Season: 11 G, 10 GS, 58.1 IP, 24 R, 21 ER, 46 H, 24 BB, 71 K, 5-1, 3.24 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 11.0 K/9) #13 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 5 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 9 G, 6 GS, 34.0 IP, 29 R, 42 H, 14 BB, 36 K, 0-2, 7.68 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, 9.5 K/9) #14 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 G, 3.1 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K (Season: 5 G, 4 GS, 16.2 IP, 13 R, 10 ER, 19 H, 9 BB, 21 K, 0-1, 5.40 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9, 11.3 K/9) #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 6 G, 4-for-19 (.211), 1-2B, 1-3B, 0--HR, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 9 K (Season: 52 G, .266/.380/.511 (.891), 10-2B, 1-3B, 11-HR, 35 R, 41 RBI, 33 BB, 77 K) #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 6 G, 5-for-18 (.278), 1-2B, 0-HR, 0 RBI, 6 BB, 9 K (Season: 35 G, .270/.424/.387 (.811), 5-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 19 R, 11 RBI, 31 BB, 37 K) #17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch (Season: 6 G, 5 GS, 18.2 IP, 15 R, 23 H, 6 BB, 21 K, 0-4, 7.23 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) #17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 2 GS, 8.1 IP, 9 R, 13 H, 3 BB, 8 K (Season: 5 G, 3 GS, 16.1 IP, 12 ER, 14 H, 7 BB, 18 K, 0-3, 8.82 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 9.1 K/9) #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 6 G, 6-for-24 (.250), 2-2B, 0-3B, 3-HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K (Season: 55 G, .207/.364/.568 (.932), 15-2B, 3-3B, 13-HR, 37 R, 51 RBI, 21 BB, 62 K) #19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K (Season: 9 GS, 35.1 IP, 10 R, 8 ER, 17 H, 19 BB, 59 K, 2-1, 2.04 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 4.8 BB/9, 15.0 K/9) #20 - David Festa (Ft. Myers) - (Season: 2 G, 4.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 6 K, (Season: 0-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 0.0 BB/9, 13.5 K/9) #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K (Season: 4 G, 2 GS, 19.2 IP, 4 ER, 14 H, 4 BB, 22 K, 3-0, 1.83 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 1.8 BB/9, 10.1 K/9) PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: OF/1B Alex Kirilloff, St. Paul Saints Why is Alex Kirilloff such a great hitter? Let me count the ways. Last week, Kirilloff played in all six Saints wins. He went 9-for-24 and hit .475/.423/.792 (1.215) with a double, three homers, and seven RBI. He was the Twins choice for hitter of the week the previous, but we went with Spencer Steer. This week, the Twins went with Steer, and we are taking Kirilloff. Granted, he shouldn’t be in the minors. That wasn’t the plan. The plan was that his surgically-repaired wrist would be completely healed, and he would be hitting well in the middle of the Twins lineup. Instead, he went on the IL with some wrist pain, found out it wasn’t anything structural and was sent to St. Paul to basically get at-bats and regain confidence. In 25 games since he was optioned, he has hit .384/.465/.717 (1.182) with six doubles, nine homers, and 26 RBI. He also has 14 walks to go with 18 strikeouts. Seven of the home runs have come in the past nine games. And as soon as a position opens up and he can get very regular playing time, the former top pitch will turn to the big leagues. Pitcher of the Week: RHP Louie Varland, Wichita Wind Surge At 24, Varland is exactly one month younger than Alex Kirilloff. Their paths have been different, but they are both on the path to Target Field. Varland was a terrific pitcher at South St. Paul before joining his brother Gus at Concordia University in St. Paul. The Twins made him their15th round pick in 2019. He was the organization's minor league pitcher of the year last year, per the Twins and Twins Daily. This year, he has had outings on both sides of the spectrum. Generally speaking, it tends to be pretty directly tied to his control. Overall, he is 5-1 with a 3.24 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In 58 1/3 innings, he has given up 46 hits (9 homers), walked 24, and struck out 71 batters. His fastball is sitting 94-96 mph and has touched 97 on occasions. His slider is generally a plus-pitch for him, and his changeup has had mixed results, but there have been several very good days. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the players and the teams in the COMMENTS below. View full article

The Minnesota Twins farm system was witness to great success on Friday, with all teams save for Fort Myers picking up wins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Rochester 4 Box Score The Saints picked up a well-earned win against the Red Wings on Friday. Alex Kirilloff led off for St. Paul and remained hot, going 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Jermaine Palacios—who performed quite well during his cup of coffee with the Twins—also went 2-for-5 with his four home run of the season. Jose Godoy rounded out the team’s multi-hit games, going 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Josh Winder made his first rehab start on his path back to the parent club, and unlike teammate Joe Ryan the previous night, his outing did not go so well. Winder surrendered a home run and gave up two runs in his one inning of work. (Though, it should be mentioned that he did strike out three batters.) After Ariel Jurado was touched for two runs of his own in four innings, Tyler Viza, Jake Petricka, and Austin Schulfer shut down the Rochester bats over the game’s final four frames to help St. Paul pick up the win. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 8, Arkansas 0 Box Score While the six-run eighth inning didn’t technically win the game for the Wind Surge, it sure didn’t hurt. Chris Williams (2-for-3, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB) led the charge as his grand slam in the penultimate frame pushed Wichita from a likely victory to one that was guaranteed. Anthony Prato (2-for-4, 2B) and Edouard Julien (2-for-4, BB) joined Williams in the multi-hit club, wrangling the remainder of the Wind Surge’s hits. Louie Varland put together perhaps his nicest start of the season, striking out nine across six innings of work. Melvi Acosta and Argenis Angulo tossed the final three innings and allowed only four Travelers to reach base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, South Bend 1 Box Score The Kernels bounced back from their shoutout loss on Thursday by claiming a definitive win against the Cubs. Aaron Sabato’s solo home run—his eighth of the season—gave Cedar Rapids a 2-1 lead in the third inning, one they would not surrender. Wander Javier (2-for-4, 3B, RBI) and Christian Encarnacion-Strand (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) picked up the Kernels other extra-base hits. (A quick not-so-positive note on Encarnacion-Strand: While the Twins third base prospect has been solid at the plate, he has a long way to go in the field. He committed his 18th error of the season Friday night and owns a putrid .838 fielding percentage in 43 career games at the hot corner.) Brent Headrick continued his hot start to the season, pitching 5 ⅔ innings, allowing only one earned run and striking out seven. Miguel Rodriguez and Bobby Milacki threw 3 ⅓ innings of scoreless ball out of the pen. MUSSEL MATTERS Daytona 6, Fort Myers 1 Box Score The Mighty Mussels bats were silenced by Tortugas on Friday as Carlos Aguiar (1-for-2, 2B, BB) was the only obstacle standing between Daytona and a no-hitter. Travis Adams started on the bump for Fort Myers and pitched well enough to give his team a fighting chance. He struck out eight and surrendered two runs in five innings. Unfortunately, the Tortugas touched Matt Mullenbach for four runs—three earned—over the next 1 2/3 innings, effectively closing the door on any potential Mighty Mussels victory. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 5, FCL Red Sox 1 Box Score There was a doubles party and everyone in the FCL Twins’ lineup was seemingly invited on Friday as the Twins blew past the Red Sox. Alexander Pena (3-for-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI), Fredy Michel (2-for-4, BB), a rehabbing Daniel Robertson (2-for-4), Gregory Duran (1-for-3, 2 BB), and Ricardo Olivar (1-for-4, 2 RBI, BB) all hit for extra bases to fuel the Twins offense. Jose Olivares threw four innings and struck out four to pick up the win. Tomas Cleto also struck out four and earned the save. DOMINICAN DAILIES No Game TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Louie Varland (Wichita): 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 9 K Hitter of the Day – Chris Williams (Wichita): 2-for-3, 2B, 4 RBI, 2 BB PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-3, 2R, BB, K #3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - Did Not Play #7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - Did Not Play #9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Play #13 - Ronny Hendriquez (St. Paul) - Did Not Play #15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-4, RBI, BB, R #16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-4, BB, R #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2B, RBI #20 - David Festa (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Play FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ St. Paul (7:07PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-2, 8.82 ERA) Wichita @ Arkansas (5:35PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-2, 3.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05PM CST) - LHP Aaron Rozek (5-2, 4.62 ERA) Fort Myers @ Daytona (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (2-2, 4.80 ERA) View full article